Carteret To Receive $352,000 In HOME Funding For Veterans’ Housing

CARTERET–Mayor Dan Reiman was joined by Councilman and Finance Chair Jorge Diaz to announce that Carteret has been awarded $352,000 in federal HOME funding by the Middlesex County Public Housing Agency’s Office of Housing and Community Development, for the construction of veterans’ housing in Carteret. The development project is being overseen by the Carteret Housing and Development Corporation (CHADCO), a Borough 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, calling for the construction of Carteret’s first veterans’ housing complex.

The veterans’ housing project will represent another stage in the Reiman administration’s continuing efforts to revitalize the Washington Avenue Redevelopment Area. The structure at 22-24 Washington Avenue will house four 2-bedroom units, each ADA adaptable, including one that will also feature an exterior wheelchair lift.

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“Carteret has always been recognized for its high regard for our military servicemen,” Reiman said. “It has been a priority of this administration to ease some of the pressure experienced by residents vulnerable to the rising cost of living in urban New Jersey, and to ensure that our returning heroes, our veterans who may be making a transition from service, are not left without practical housing options.”

The project has received additional recognition in Carteret for meeting specific needs in the areas of affordable housing for veterans, and the integration of green technology. Plans have called for the inclusion of 5 solar panel arrays that will provide 1.5 KW of power, or roughly 70-80% of electric use, to each apartment, along with two 80-gallon solar powered hot water systems.

Reiman said, “We’ve been taking advantage of a number of county and federal initiatives that have allowed us to make provisions wherever possible for green technological enhancements – retrofits that make sound financial sense and which have a positive impact on the environment. There are many benefits to our Veterans’ Housing project, not the least of which will be the implementation of state-of-the-art, energy conserving measures.”

“We’re happy to see these federal Community Development Block Grant resources put to such ideal use,” Congressman Albio Sires (D-NJ) said, “and to have been a part of President Obama’s re-funding of the program. Meeting the demands of skyrocketing costs of living could be challenging for veterans even before the recession. I commend Mayor Reiman and his team for recognizing the needs of our military veterans and prompting innovations in Carteret that will benefit both them and the greater community.”

“These are servicemen and servicewomen who serve our country bravely and selflessly,” Middlesex County Freeholder Deputy Director Ronald G. Rios added, “and yet come home to a fiercely difficult economy and obstacles to basic needs. On behalf of the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, we’re proud to have facilitated the establishment of veterans’ housing in Carteret, and the construction of this state-of-the-art facility.”